Megabucks Plus

Megabucks is a tri-state lottery operated in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.

Draws are held twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 19:59 local time, with ticket sales ending at 19:50 local time and resuming immediately afterward.

Tickets cost $2.00.

To play, choose five main numbers from 1 to 41 and a Megaball number from 1 to 6. Players can go for a Quick Pick for a full set of randomly generated numbers or can Quick Pick the main numbers or Megaball number only.

Advance Play is available for up to 20 draws at a time.

Jackpot

Megabucks has a minimum guaranteed jackpot of $1 million.

This is a rollover lottery with no caps.

The biggest ever winning Megabucks jackpot was $12.5 million in March 2014.

Odds and Prizes

The odds of winning the Megabucks jackpot are 1 in 4,496,388.

There are nine different prize tiers, with overall odds of winning a prize at 1 in 6.

Prize category	Numbers Matched	Winning Odds	Winning Odds %
1	5, plus Megaball	1 in 4,496,388	0.00002
2	5	1 in 899,278	0.0001
3	4, plus Megaball	1 in 24,980	0.004
4	4	1 in 4,996	0.02
5	3, plus Megaball	1 in 714	0.14
6	3	1 in 143	0.7
7	2, plus Megaball	1 in 63	1.59
8	2	1 in 13	7.7
9	1, plus Megaball	1 in 15	6.67

Payout and Taxes

The Megabucks jackpot can be paid out as a cash lump sum or in annual instalments, with jackpot winners having 60 days from the date of the draw to make a decision. If the state lottery is not notified in time, the prize will default to annual payments.

Players have up to one year to claim prizes.

All US lottery winnings over $600 are reported to the Inland Revenue Service, with prizes over $5,000 having 25% deducted for federal tax.

Players in Vermont pay an additional 6% in state tax, while players in Maine pay 5%, with lottery prizes in New Hampshire being tax free.

Who Can Play Megabucks?

Players must be at least 18 years of age to buy a Megabucks ticket.

Tickets are sold at authorized lottery outlets across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Megabucks is currently not available outside the three participating states, nor overseas via Lottery Agent websites.

History of Megabucks

Launched in 1985, Megabucks was the first multi-jurisdictional lottery in the United States. The game became known as Megabucks Plus in Maine in 2009, with the ticket price increasing from $1.00 to $2.00 in all three states.